I describe OPM 81 as expressing lots of 'compression,' which is description I made often when describing the first month of meditations that were working out the conceptual language. I use the word 'compression' as a way of talking about the repetition, almost rhythmic, which isn't surprising because I was/am a drummer before being a philosopher! 'Compression' indicates the weight of repetition over time to make the 'gems' of words, concepts, even questions and fragments that stand out. One of those 'gems' that was produced in the first month of this project was the word/concept 'Leap,' which, in some ways, I borrow from Kierkegaard, but I make my 'own' because unlike Kierkegaard I understand the Leap as happening in and through human relations, specifically through what I call the 'learning community,' the congregation for thinking.
The highlight of OPM 81 is the re-turning (paideia like) to so much of what was written in the first month specifically the Sage's evocative speech as interruption that is conveyed as an invitation, which is to say, with the spirit of openness as opposed to an agonistic spirit: "Heraclitus' invitation to the strangers intends to mediate their passage into his home, and, thereby, intends to guide their crossing over. The crossing over of which we now speak is another name for the Leap. Above we encountered the Leap in our initial exploration of evocative speech, and here, with the Heraclitus story, we see depicted the unfolding of the leap, this crossing over as the completion of the abode of learning, as the decidedness of speech. Evocative speech, offered by the Sage from the location of steadfast openness, guides this crossing which completes the re-turning."
The highlight of OPM 81 is the re-turning (paideia like) to so much of what was written in the first month specifically the Sage's evocative speech as interruption that is conveyed as an invitation, which is to say, with the spirit of openness as opposed to an agonistic spirit: "Heraclitus' invitation to the strangers intends to mediate their passage into his home, and, thereby, intends to guide their crossing over. The crossing over of which we now speak is another name for the Leap. Above we encountered the Leap in our initial exploration of evocative speech, and here, with the Heraclitus story, we see depicted the unfolding of the leap, this crossing over as the completion of the abode of learning, as the decidedness of speech. Evocative speech, offered by the Sage from the location of steadfast openness, guides this crossing which completes the re-turning."
3.0 - First, I want to acknowledge the 2.0 commentary calling out the descriptive term "compression," which aptly describes this project, especially the original writing. The experiment of writing each day for at least 1hr was meant to be a challenge to myself. And the "method" was to pick up where I left off the previous day. But once the daily meditations took on a life of their own, the writing became a conversation. And like any conversation, words were repeated, again and again, and the whole narrative unfolded in an organic way. Repetition was and is a central pattern, and if I have "method" to this madness, it is a pattern and a style, for sure. (https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vectors/geometric-mandala-vectors) I hadn't made that connection until this moment, although I have already written the first line of the Routledge book that will be the focus of my upcoming sabbatical: "I teach in a circular building." To speak less of "method" and more of "pattern" is to acknowledge the point of departure: the question of initiating the periagogē, the turning around of the student. But it is also to acknowledge the arrangement of the dialogic classroom. We sit in a circle, but the flow of the conversation criss-crosses the room. When the dialogue takes on a life of its own, when the ideas are flowing freely and apart from any one speaker, then we have circulation. Later on I will encounter those OPMs where I write about the Open region as the openness of the heart that is ready to receive. The learning community congregates within the Open, but we can also say it gathers through the Open, the opening that receives the Evocative saying/questioning, what I name the (w)hole through which music arrives and captivates us. Circulation denotes the vitality of the gathering community. Circulation denotes movement of dialogue. Circulation denotes the crossing-over (diagogē) as the criss-crossing between the members of the congregation.
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